How to Delete a Pointer in C++?

In C++, memory management is essential to avoid memory leaks, crashes, and undefinable behavior. In this article, we will learn how to properly delete a pointer in C++.

Deleting a Pointer in C++

By deleting a pointer, we refer to deleting the memory allocated to the pointer. To delete a pointer in C++ we can use the delete keyword and for arrays allocated with new, use delete[] to deallocate the memory.

After, deleting or deallocating the memory, we should assign the nullptr to the pointer.

Syntax to Delete the Pointer in C++

For deleting the pointer variable use:

deletepointerName;

For deleting the pointer array use:

delete[]arrayPointer;

Also, if you have used the malloc() or calloc() function to allocate the memory, then use the free() function for deallocation.

C++ Program to Delete a Pointer

The below example demonstrates how we can delete a pointer properly in C++.

Value of dynamicInt: 42

Note: Undefined behavior occurs when attempting to remove a single point more than one time. So, before deleting the pointer, always check that it is not null .